The government has denied applying to extradite police commando Sirul Azhar Umar from Australia, contrary to a news report claiming otherwise.

However, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad hinted that there was a possibility for Sirul’s death sentence to be commuted to life imprisonment.

“When we reduce the sentence from death to maybe life sentence or whatever, maybe he will come back.

“But if he still fears for his life from other sources, then of course that is not something we can do anything about.

“If he fears that other people might kill him, he has the choice of not coming back. We can’t force him to come back,” said Mahathir when asked during a press conference at the Prime Minister’s Office today.

Australian law does not allow extradition for people on death row. As such, commuting Sirul’s sentence would potentially allow Sirul to return to Malaysia.

When asked whether the government had indeed applied to extradite Sirul, Mahathir answered, “No, we haven’t”.

Home Minister Muhyiddin Yassin repeated Mahathir’s answer when Malaysiakini posed the same question to him after the press conference.

In 2015, Sirul was convicted of murdering Mongolian national Altantuyaa Shaariibuu and sentenced to death by hanging. He later fled to Australia and has been placed in a detention centre there for the past three years.

Mahathir also said that the government was looking into re-opening the investigation into Shaariibuu’s murder.

“We have been asked to look into it again and we are looking,” he said.